Orbitz.com Complaint

Customer Unservice! - Flight/Hotel package

NO AMOUNT OF SAVINGS IS WORTH DEALING WITH ORBITZ!!!!! If you decide to use them anyway, be ready to eat the $$$$ you spent on the package. Customer service is practically non-existent and if you do by chance get to speak with a representative after being disconnected several times - I seriously doubt you will be able to understand if you are English speaking. Sad, Sad, Sad!!!!!

I booked a package to Cancun for 6/26 - 6/29. I called on June 14th to see if I could change the person going with me as their plans changed and they would not be able to go. I was expecting to pay approximately up to 1/2 of the booking to be able to change the person going with me.

First of all - I waited for approximately 30 minutes to get to a customer representative. When I finally spoke with a representative I found it very difficult to understand what they were saying. They spoke with a very heavy Asian accent and I repeatedly asked them to spell words and to slow down so I could understand what the person was saying.

According the the person I spoke with on June 14th - no part of the package could be changed. It could only be cancelled. However, my flights had already been cancelled by Orbitz but I was not contacted! No explanation could be given - they stated they had sent an email - I never received an email!

I called back tonight to cancel the package. I got disconnected on the first call after over a 16 minute wait, call was dropped the 2nd time after over an 11 minute wait and finally after the 3rd call, after I'd waited over 7 minutes - I spoke with a representative. I asked to cancel the package. Again the representative had a heavy accent and was VERY difficult to understand! After they stated they had cancelled the package, I asked for a confirmation # for the cancellation. After being on hold for about 10 minutes, the representative came back and stated it was the same as the Package Locator - "original package locator". I asked why then had I been on hold for that? I asked to speak to a supervisor and the representative argued with me that it was the same. I said I still wanted to speak with a supervisor and she argued with me several times. I finally asked if she were refusing to allow me to speak with a supervisor. After another 10 minute wait, I spoke with a supervisor. I asked the supervisor if I had trouble with the cancellation and credit card refund, if I could call her directly back? After a long explanation, it was basically no - you get the luck of the draw.

The call on June 14th took about 55 minutes and the call tonight logged in at about 72 minutes - over 2 hours in all!

Good luck if you decide to use Orbitz - my prayers are with you. Stick to real people and travel agencies with a reputation. NOT ORBITZZZZZ!!!!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ is what you do waiting to try to talk with a rep - lol!!!

Comments

I fully concur with the review above. Here's my horrible experience with Orbitz that the VP for Customer Relations, Steve Sedlak, could not adequately address:

I purchased a ticket from Orbitz on 1/1/12 at a cost of $533.79 for a flight from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on 6/10/12. The flight was in 2 segments via Urumqi, China on China Southern Airlines because there are no direct flights between those two countries. The layover in Urumqi was over 12 hours so I then purchased a visa for China for $140.
About 12 hours before the flight, I received an e-mail from Orbitz, saying a significant change had occurred in the itinerary and that I should contact you immediately collect.
Since I was in Dushanbe, I attempted to place the collect call [unsuccessfully] at the Central Telephone office (I did not have my cellphone with me). I then went to Hotel Tajikistan nearby and asked the concierge to place the collect call in my presence. She attempted to do so but the call was rejected by Orbitz. The concierge asked if they should place the call anyways so I agreed because I knew it was urgent. The Orbitz agent told me the flight from Urumqi to Ashgabat had been canceled at the last moment and that the next flight from Urumqi to Ashgabat would be two days later; I told her that was unacceptable to me since I had pre-paid hotels and tours in Ashgabat and had nonrefundable tickets for the onward journey from Ashgabat to San Francisco via Moscow two days later.
The Orbitz agent then advised me to go to the airport immediately (it was about 4:00 pm) and have China Southern endorse the ticket to another airline(s) that was flying to Ashgabat from Dushanbe sooner than the two day delay of China Southern. I asked what other routing was possible. She kept me waiting on the phone for half an hour, saying that she was trying to reach China Southern. She refused to tell me alternate routing so I asked to speak to her manager. She kept me on the phone for another 30 minutes, still without connecting me to a manager or telling me alternate routing. She never got back to me. I was charged $150 by the hotel for the long distance phone call.
I went to the airport and got there at 5:30 p.m. The China Southern reps. did not get to the airport until 11:30 p.m.; meanwhile, I learned about alternate routing on Turkish Airlines and Sonom Air. The China Southern rep. refused to endorse the ticket even though the Tajik ticketing agents told them they should do so since China Southern was unable to honor its commitment. I ended up purchasing a ticket on Turkish Airlines and Sonom Air to get me to Ashgabat about 3 hours later than my original booking.
I have spoken to Carmela and Sebastian at Orbitz who have agreed to refund me the ticket on China Southern. However, they were unable to authorize reimbursement for the $150 telephone call or the $140 visa expense.
I asked for reimbursement for both. I was extremely displeased with the denial of the collect call by Orbitz, the way the Orbitz agent dealt with me and the fact she kept me on the line for an hour without giving me satisfactory information. I will never again fly on China Southern, not just because they canceled at the last moment but because they did not endorse the ticket as they should have.
I will never again use Orbitz!